Personalized call-reception prompter

Abstract

A personalized call reception prompter ( 106 for a shared communications reception terminal ( 104 ) or for co-located communications reception terminals ( 104 A- 104 X) enables the users ( 100 - 102 ) of the shared terminal or the co-located terminals to customize and prioritize ( 200 - 204 ) a list of callers, whereupon the prompter alerts the users to incoming calls in a distinctive manner that identifies both the intended recipient and the priority and/or source of the call. A user-programmable table ( 210 ) correlates ( 212 ) users' IDs ( 220 ) with callers' IDs ( 222 ) and with corresponding alerting signals or call priorities ( 224 ). The prompter uses ( 308 ) the caller ID of an incoming call to determine ( 310 ) the user ID and alerting signals or priority that are correlated in the table, with that caller ID. The prompter then generates ( 312 ) an alert that both identifies the correlated user as the intended recipient of the call and includes either the correlated alerting signals to identify the caller or indicates the correlated call priority.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising: 
 means for determining both (a) which of a plurality of users of a communications terminal is an intended recipient of a communication incoming to the terminal and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    means responsive to the determining means for effecting alerting of the users to the incoming communication in a manner indicating to the users both (a) the intended recipient and (b) the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the means for effecting alerting comprise  
 means for causing an alerting mechanism of the terminal to alert the users to the incoming communication in said manner.  
 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  further comprising: 
 the communications terminal, including the determining means and the causing means.  
 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the alerting comprises one of a distinctive ringing sequence, a distinctive tone sequence, an announcement, a visual signal, and a tactile signal.  
 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the determining means comprise  
 means for prompting the source for identification of at least one of the intended recipient, the priority, and the source.  
 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the determining means comprise  
 means for storing information correlating sources of communications with the users, and  
 means cooperative with the storing means and responsive to identification of the source of the incoming communication, for determining as the intended recipient the user who is correlated in the storing means with the source of the incoming communication.  
 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein: 
 the identification of the source comprises caller ID information.  
 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein: 
 the means for determining who is correlated comprises  
 means for prompting the source for identification of the source.  
 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising: 
 means cooperative with the storing means and responsive to a determination that no user is correlated in the storing means with the source, for prompting the source for identification of the intended recipient.  
 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the determining means comprise  
 means for storing information correlating sources of communications with the users and with priorities, and  
 means cooperative with the storing means and responsive to identifying a source of the incoming communication, for determining the user and the priority that are correlated in the storing means with the source of the incoming communication; and  
 the means for effecting alerting comprise  
 means for effecting alerting in a manner indicating the determined correlated user and the determined correlated priority.  
 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the determining means comprise  
 means for storing information correlating sources of communications with the users and with alerting signals corresponding to the sources, and  
 means cooperative with the storing means and responsive to identifying a source of the incoming communication, for determining the user and the alerting signal that are correlated in the storing means with the source of the incoming communication; and  
 the means for effecting alerting comprise  
 means for effecting alerting via an alerting signal that indicates the determined correlated user and that includes the determined correlated alerting signal.  
 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus comprising: 
 an effector of determining both (a) which of a plurality of users of a communications terminal is an intended recipient of a communication incoming to the terminal and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    an effector responsive to the effector of determining, of alerting the users to the incoming communication in a manner indicating to the users both (a) the intended recipient and (b) the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         13 . An apparatus comprising: 
 a memory-based device for determining both (a) which of a plurality of users of a communications terminal is an intended recipient of a communication incoming to the terminal and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    a device for generating signals perceivable by the user that alert the users to the incoming communication in a manner indicating to the users both (a) the intended recipient and (b) the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         14 . A method comprising: 
 determining both (a) which of a plurality of users of a communications terminal is an intended recipient of a communication incoming to the terminal and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    in response to the determining, alerting the users to the incoming communication in a manner indicating to the users both (a) the intended recipient and (b) the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         15 . A computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed in a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of  claim 14 .  
     
     
         16 . An apparatus comprising: 
 means for determining both (a) which of a plurality of users is an intended recipient of an incoming communication and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    means responsive to the determining means for effecting alerting of the intended recipient to the incoming communication via an alerting signal that is unique to the intended recipient and that indicates to the intended recipient the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein: 
 the means for effecting alerting comprise  
 means for causing an alerting mechanism of a communications. terminal whose use is shared by the plurality of users to alert the intended recipient.  
 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17  further comprising: 
 the communications terminal, including the determining means and the causing means.  
 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein: 
 the means for effecting alerting comprise  
 means for causing an alerting mechanism of a communications terminal whose use is dedicated to the intended recipient to alert the intended recipient.  
 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further comprising: 
 a plurality of the communications terminals each of whose use is dedicated to a corresponding one of the users, each including its own determining means and causing means.  
 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein: 
 the alerting comprises one of a distinctive ringing sequence, a distinctive tone sequence, an announcement, a visual signal, and a tactile signal.  
 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein: 
 the determining means comprise  
 means for prompting the source for identification of at least one of the intended recipient, the priority, and the source.  
 
     
     
         23 . An apparatus comprising: 
 an effector of determining both (a) which of a plurality of users is an intended recipient of an incoming communication and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    an effector responsive to the effector of determining, of alerting the intended recipient to the incoming communication via an alerting signal that is unique to the intended recipient and that indicates to the intended recipient the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         24 . An apparatus comprising: 
 a memory-based device for determining both (a) which of a plurality of users is an intended recipient of an incoming communication and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    a device for generating signals perceivable by the intended recipient that alert the intended recipient to the incoming communication via an alerting signal that is unique to the intended recipient and that indicates to the intended recipient the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         25 . A method comprising: 
 determining both (a) which of a plurality of users is an intended recipient of an incoming communication and (b) at least one of a priority and a source of the communication; and    in response to the determining, alerting the intended recipient to the incoming communication via an alerting signal that is unique to the intended recipient and that indicates to the intended recipient the at least one of the priority and the source.    
     
     
         26 . A computer-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed in a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim  25 .